NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — If you're in the market for a new car, borrowing money will cost a pretty penny because interest rates went up again.
A lot of drivers are holding onto their cars for longer.
Christian Ibarra said it's too expensive to buy a new car right now, and everyone's dealing with inflation.
"It’s just the prices are like crazy. I’ve got friends in the industry, and new cars and used cars increased so much," Ibarra said.
Tom Seyfried at Genesis Auto Brokers in Cool Springs works to buy cars at auctions for his clients.
He said after the fed started raising interest rates, borrowers have been hit hard.
"But 9% right now isn’t even the worst," Seyfried said. "If you have really bad credit and you’re trying to rebuild, you can see 11-15% no problem, and even higher sometimes with kind of a bad lender."
He said paying cash, or being able to put some cash down, will help a lot.
"And then rebuilding your credit and increasing your credit score, is certainly going to help get you a better rate," Seyfried said. "And then hopefully the rates will come down soon."
Tom said some people are still finding interest rates under 5%, but it all depends on your bank. On the bright side, you can always refinance later.
Tom said car prices are starting to come down a little bit since fewer people are buying them.
"Even though there’s less buyers, the inventory is still pretty low. People are holding on to their trade-ins. They’re not trading them in now. There’s not as many vehicles coming off of lease right now because 2-3 years ago things started to slow down, and so that’s still having an effect."
For now, some drivers are going to wait and see what happens next with the economy.
"I need to keep my car,” Ibarra said. “I can’t afford a car now."
It also helps if you broaden your horizon instead of looking for one specific vehicle.
